Accidental Play of Love
by PensiveQuill
Summary: As a teen, Buttercup is going through many emotions. In order to cope with this, she tries new activities at school and tries to make new friends. Her journey of adolescence awaits her with many turns of events. (This is my first fanfiction of anything! I hope that you enjoy it!) Edit: The cover art belongs to jailbaitCAT on deviantart
1. Strange Dream

"...what? Are you kidding me?" I asked.

"Yeah! I'm serious, Buttercup!" answered Blossom.

"But...why me, and what's this for?"

"Well, my drama class is doing a class project where we have to choose a famous written play and to remake it. We've decided to do _Romeo and Juliet_. I'm in charge of picking Juliet, and I choose you!"

"Juliet?" I cocked my head with one eyebrow raised and one eye halfway closed.

"Yeah!"

"You're crazy! I am NOT fit to play her!" I yelled opening my arms.

"Well, like I said, my class is REMAKING the play. Plus, all you do is play sports and video games, and I want to prove to people that you can do more than that," she said thoughtfully while sitting herself on my messily made bed.

"Hmm…" I hummed with one finger on my mouth and still an eyebrow raised, "I guess that I can do it? WELL, do I have to wear a dress?"

"Um, it's not certain yet since we're not finished with the play, but most likely no." I sighed with relief. I placed my hands on the back of my head and leaned back on my chair, away from my computer monitor, smiling at the ceiling. Blossom suddenly stood up and walked to the door. She stopped momentarily and looked at me with a smirk.

"Well, it's possible that we might leave the kiss scene in!" she giggled and ran out. My eyes widened immediately at the word "kiss". I was about to tell her to remove me from the list of actors and actresses, but it was too late. I heard her lock click from her bedroom.

I sighed and continued to scroll through my Facebook newsfeed on my computer screen. 'I hope that she's lying. I mean, isn't that considered PDA!? I just hope that it's a cool guy who plays sports and is cute…'

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Bubbles entered my room and asked, "Hey, Buttercup! Whatchu' doing?"

I opened a new tab and went on YouTube and answered, "Nothing really. What's up?"

She smiles and lays on my bed despite all the clothes scattered on it. "I'm just excited about becoming sophomores! Just 2 more quarters!"

"Uh-huh" I absent-mindedly nodded my head and started playing Jet Pack Blues by Fall Out Boy. The last thing I wanted to talk about was school. I was failing my algebra class, and I didn't plan on repeating freshman year. I didn't want to ask Blossom for help, or else, she would've teased me for looking up to her for tutoring. I didn't want to increase her arrogance.

"Why are you listening to this song?" Bubbles asked with her head slightly tilted.

"Well, first of all, Fall Out Boy is awesome! Second of all, this song is a bit relaxing to me."

"Ohhh," Bubbles nodded with her lips sticking out, "Oh, yeah!" she suddenly exclaimed. "There's going to be a new kid at our school!"

I rotate my chair to face Bubbles with an eyebrow raised. "A new kid? During this time of the school year? How is she going to catch up with learning all the stuff?"

"Well, I'm not sure if it's a boy or girl, but I hope that we can be friends!" she smiles widely.

"Don't you have any homework to do?" I turned back towards my computer screen wanting this conversation to end. I needed my alone time.

"Um, yeah...don't you?"

"I already finished," I mumbled.

"What? YOU finished your homework?"

"What?" I turned back towards her to see her eyes a bit widened. "What's wrong with me being finished with my homework already?"

"Well...I mean, you usually do your homework at the last minute!"

"Hey, I can't change for the better good?" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sorry. It's just a bit...shocking?" she questions herself. "But, I mean it's good that you're starting to finish homework earlier now!" she smiles brightly.

"Yeah, yeah. Is there anything else you need to tell me? I have soccer practice in the morning _and_ after school, so I plan on getting enough sleep."

"Nope!" she stands up. "I'll get going now! Goodnight, Buttercup!" she walks out of my room.

"Goodnight," I replied quietly.

After about 4 more minutes of looking through the virtual Web, I turned off my computer and went to the bathroom. Using my mint-colored toothbrush, I cleaned my teeth. After I was finished rinsing my mouth, I stared at my reflection for a couple of seconds. 'Should I shower?' I asked myself as I pampered with my wild bob-ish cut. I peeked my head out of the bathroom door and looked at the black clock that was fixated on the wall the middle of the hallway. 9:38 P.M. It was late-ish. If I shower now, the Professor might yell at me. Plus, I was gonna get dirty tomorrow anyways. I faced back again to the oval bathroom mirror and ran three fingers through my bangs and convinced myself to just go to bed. I brushed my hair and turned off the lights as I exited the bathroom.

I changed into my pajamas—black with Batman's symbol everywhere; it was those kinds of pajamas where you had to button the top, and it had a collar. I pushed off all the clothes that were on my queen-sized bed. 'I'll clean it one day,' I promised myself. After all the clothes were gone, the azure-colored blanket and royal purple bedsheet became visible. I plopped down onto my matching royal purple pillow. Out of all the pillows that surrounded my head, I grabbed my Wonder Woman pillow and snuggled with it. I don't know why, but this week had just been exhausting. I sighed and covered myself with my blanket. In no time, I fell asleep.

* * *

"Hello!?" I yelled, but only my echoes answered me back. I looked around my surroundings but only saw darkness. A chill ran through my spine. I felt...different. I couldn't stand up. I could only be on all fours. I started walking, but I was afraid. I didn't know where I was going. I felt myself moving forward (or was it backwards? Right? Left?), but it looked like I was going nowhere. My head pounded with its loss of direction. I kept moving for about 1 minute or 1 hour until I saw a small circle of light ahead of me. I started running towards it. When I had finally stood in front of it, I realized that it was a glass sphere. I saw two figures inside. There was a blond bunny with two blue beaded hair ties around the base of its long ears and an orange-feathered owl with a large red bow on its head. They were asleep. They looked so familiar.

"Bubbles!? Blossom!?" I yelled with a feeling of relief. I tried to touch them but the glass barricaded me from interacting with them. "G-guys! It's me! Buttercup! Wake up! Something's wrong here!" They didn't hear me. Their chests continued to rise and descend in rhythm with their relaxed breathing of slumber. I felt the panic rise inside of me. I felt like crying, Me? Crying? I needed someone to be with. I felt so alone. I started pounding on the orb when it suddenly blacked out. Bubbles and Blossom disappeared. The orb lit up again, but instead of seeing my sisters, I saw a black cat with lime green eyes. It was staring back at me. It looked so afraid. I wanted to pick it up and comfort it, but I couldn't because the cat was me.

Suddenly, the orb popped, and everything went white. It was too bright, so I had to shut my eyes. All of a sudden, I felt a hand stroking my head. I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see whoever was touching me. My eyes couldn't readjust yet. Whoever it was was obviously a boy since the hands were a bit big. I squinted my eyes. He had ears on top of his head and a tail behind him that looked like it belonged to a golden retriever. A dog person? Then, the boy picked me up and cradled me in his arms. Normally, I would've punched him for touching me without my consent, but his warmth reassured me too much.

"Meow?" I bit my tongue. What happened to my speech? I started to whimper as tears rolled down my small cheeks. My mind was everywhere. I was so confused and didn't know what to do. I wanted to thank this person for keeping me company. Since I couldn't talk, I decided to do what a cat would usually do to show appreciation.

I stretched my head towards the boy's face. "M-meow," I beckoned. He seemed to get the message. He moved his face closer to mine, and I licked his cheek. I think I heard him chuckle. All of sudden, a cloud of smoke surrounded my body. I was able to stand on twos again. I was human again. Wait, no, nevermind. I felt ears on top of my head and a long tail swaying back and forth from my coccyx. I was still partly feline. I was just like the boy now—half human and half animal.

When the smoke cleared, I found myself in the boy's arms on the ground. My head was placed against his chest and my elbows bent with my hands by the sides of my head. I listened to his steady heartbeat. I was flustered with the sudden embrace. I tried to get up, but the boy's hold on me tightened. I wanted to say something, but no sound came out at all. What was up with my body? He pulled me up and put my head on his shoulder. He then rested his cheek on my head. My face was burning up. I wanted to move away from him, but at the same time, I didn't want to. It felt so wrong but so right. I felt like I could stay in his embrace forever...but I didn't even know his name. Everything about this dimension was so enigmatic. I couldn't absorb everything that was going on. I couldn't formulate any words; I was only half human, and now, I'm enjoying the affection of a boy I had just met. My frustration was about to overflow. I started hovering with the boy still hugging me. Except, I wasn't hovering at all. My hair and clothes flapped behind me. I was falling, falling straight to a pit of darkness. I wanted to scream. I was scared, but the boy didn't seem perturbed at all. His eyes were closed, and I felt his chest rise and descend in unison to the rhythm of slumber's breath, just like Bubbles and Blossom. He was asleep!? I attempted to fly, but I couldn't. Just like my inability to talk, my body stopped functioning properly. I kept trying and trying with all my might to muster up my super powers to get away from the hole of incessant darkness. My attempts were fruitless. We, the boy and I, continued to plunge. Our bodies had slowly rotated, and now, we were diving head first.

My hair was now flying around my face, and I saw tears receding away from me. I realized that they were my own tears. I knew that this was the end. Then, all of a sudden, the boy gently grabbed my chin and tilted my head to face him eye-to-eye. I still couldn't focus my eyesight, but my face continued to conjure a blush. He put our foreheads together and made our noses touch. By then, my face had gone on fire. Although my vision was blurred, I could see him eyeing my lips. He tilted his head a bit to the right and slowly crept closer to my lips. I was too flustered that I shut my eyes. I couldn't move my head. All I saw last was dark green in two circles looking at me. I opened my eyes again, but they acted as if they were still closed. It was too late. We were inside that horrendous dark cavity. I couldn't see the boy anymore, but I still felt his presence. His arm was around my waist, and his other hand was on the back of my head. When did they get there? I felt his breathing brushing against my lips. We were so close. Then, he gently cupped my face with his hands and...


	2. Strange Behavior

I sat up screaming, squeezing my Wonder Woman pillow tightly. I quickly looked around me. It was dark, but the moon gave some light through my rectangular window. I could tell that I was still in my room. I continued to search throughout my environment. My blanket was pushed near the end off the bed, and half of it was already touching the ground. I must have been thrashing around in my sleep. I looked at my green digital clock. 2:36 A.M. 'It was only a dream, Buttercup, calm down,' I told myself. My heart still continued to race. 'Or was it a nightmare?' I thought about how I was completely vulnerable in that incomprehensible world. I couldn't talk at all or move, but that boy… My mind trailed back to that moment when his lips almost touched mine. 'Buttercup!' I shook my head back to reality. 'What are you thinking!? You're getting hot over a boy!?' I plopped back down on my bed and covered my face with my pillow.

"Buttercup?" I heard Bubbles ask sleepily as she opened the door, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just had a nightmare,' I responded, my voice muffled by the pillow. I heard a couple of soft shuffles but no reply. I turned on my side with my back facing the door. I thought that Bubbles had gone back into her room, but then, I heard my bed creak.

"Is it okay if I sleep with you, Buttercup? I want you to sleep well," Bubbles said quietly as she pulled the blanket up to her neck and mine.

"Um, sure, Bubbles," I replied, not too surprised at her act of kindness. I took the pillow of my head and placed it underneath my head. I turned to face Bubbles with her eyes already closed.

"Bubbles?"

"Yeah?" she replied opening her eyes.

"T-thanks," I said bashfully.

"No problem. I'm just trying to be a good sister," she smiled, and I returned the smile. We both fell asleep with ease, and this time, I slept with no disruptances.

* * *

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ _Bee-_

I slammed my hand on the snooze button. I slowly blinked my eyes open and sat up. The sun was starting to rise with its array of red and orange. The birds were singing in harmony. I rubbed my eyes. 'Was it 6:30 already? That came by so quickly.' I stretched my arms and legs. While I was doing that, I accidentally bumped into something. It grunted a bit. 'Whoops, I forgot that Bubbles was here.' I looked over at my right and saw her sleeping peacefully. Her hair was a wave of golden curls. It covered the entire pillow and reached down about 3 inches past her shoulders. She looked so sweet. Suddenly, she turned and brought her knees to her chest. 'She must be cold,' I smiled and pulled the blanket up to her neck. 'Well, I gotta go to soccer practice.'

I tiptoed out of my room and went to the bathroom. After I was finished brushing my teeth and freshening myself, I went back into my room. I changed out of my pajamas and threw on my black jeggings, gray sports bra, coral pink t-shirt, and maroon hoodie. I then packed my duffle bag with all my equipment: purple soccer uniform, purple and white knee-high socks, and black cleats. As soon as I was done, I tiptoed out of my room again and silently closed the door. I could already hear the Professor preparing breakfast. It smelled like… french toast and bacon! I hovered over to the kitchen, careful to not wake Blossom or Bubbles.

"Good morning, Buttercup," the Professor smiled as he noticed me coming into the kitchen. He was wearing a pink apron. Man, does that guy have the courage to wear that.

"Good morning," I responded smiling.

"Would you care for some breakfast?"

"Yes, please, but I have to hurry."

"What's the rush?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you that I joined the soccer team last week," I puffed out my chest to display some pride.

"Well, that's nice. I can't wait to go to one of your games. You're not using your powers, are you?" He looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Of course not, Professor!" I crossed my arms. "Besides, with or without them, I'm still good at sports."

"I know," he handed me a plate with eggs, 3 strips of bacon, 2 sausage links, and 1 slice of french toast.

"Thank you," I said as I took the plate and started gobbling everything down.

"You don't have to rush that quickly," he laughed. "I'm certain that you can get there in time."

"Yeah but as soon as I get on school grounds, they won't let me use my superpowers," I frowned as I swallowed my eggs. "I'll fly halfway there and start walking."

"Well, then, I guess you better hurry then."

I grabbed the 2 pieces of bacon and placed the french toast in my mouth as I headed towards the door. I sat down and put on my green high-top converse shoes while chewing slowly on the toast, careful to not drop it. I glanced at the clock in the kitchen. 6:54 A.M. Practice doesn't start until 7:15; I better hurry.

"Bye, Professor!" I yelled as I finished the rest of my toast.

"Goodbye, sweetie," he replied as he continued to make breakfast.

I ran out the door and shoved a strip of bacon in my mouth. I jumped off the step and started to fly. 'Today seems like a nice day,' I thought as I carefully shifted my duffle bag, so that it was hoisted on my back. Townsville below was still asleep; almost everything was still. I saw a few lights turn on in some houses. I loved flying in the morning. I always felt at peace. I flew into the clouds and felt their soft humidity sink into my skin. I giggled and continued to fly above the clouds.

The sun looked so pretty. I stopped and stared at it for a while, studying its magnificent illumination. I wanted to stay there forever, but my trance was broken when I was pulled below the clouds. I watched as my vision quickly changed from the sun, to the haziness of the clouds, and to...a pair of dark green eyes set on a face with an evil grin.

"What do you want, Butch?" I rolled my eyes and pushed him away from me.

"I just wanna say 'hi'," he continued to grin, "And for this." He grabbed my last strip of bacon out of my hand.

"Hey! That's mine!" I tried to grab it back, but he held it over his head out of my reach. "You could've at least asked, jerk." I didn't want to deal with him, so I flew around him and continued my way to school.

"Ouch, Buttercup!" he grabbed his chest and made a face as if he was punched in the gut, "That really hurted! It's not nice to call people names." He started chuckling.

"Whatever, just leave me alone," I didn't care to look back at him. I just wanted to arrive to soccer practice on time.

"C'mon, Buttercuppy, don't be like that," he jeered. I still didn't look back at him even though that nickname ticked me off. To get away from him, I blasted off leaving a trail of lime-colored light. However, in no time at all, he caught up to me. He grabbed my duffle bag, and I was pulled with it.

"Can you stop!" I yelled feeling very annoyed. He wasn't phased at all; he only continued to grin at me, taking amusement at my anger.

"Stop what? Oh, you mean this?" he yanked my duffle bag again but harder this time.

"Do you ever know when to stop!?" I kneed him in the stomach, and while he bent over holding his stomach, I grabbed his leg and threw him downwards. I flew quickly to school, so I wasn't able to see whether or not he made contact with the ground.

Of course, I still remember that lame contract my sisters and I made, so I landed on the ground about 1 block away from the school. I looked behind me. No sign of Butch. I sighed of relief. 'Man, does he get annoying?' I thought. I began to run to school with the chilly January air striking my face. 'I wish that I had my skateboard or at least my rollerblades…'.

I slammed the school doors open and sped-walked to the girls' locker room. On my way there, I glanced out the window on my right next to the social worker's' office. Girls in purple were already on the soccer field during warm ups while the coach Ms. Jackson was taking attendance. 'Oh, snap! I gotta hurry!' I walked even faster. 'This is all Butch's fault!' I frowned. 'I'll get that little numbskull later!'

I ran into the locker room and nearly slipped on a puddle. 'Do people know how to wash their hands properly!?' I was getting very irritated. After I threw on my soccer uniform and stuffed my belongings into the locker nearest to the entrance, I ran out and onto the field just in time. I walked slowly and placed myself behind a group of girls who seemed to be gossiping. Ms. Jackson walked by, and I promptly began to stretch my legs.

"Melanie Martinez!" Ms. Jackson called out.

"Present!" Melanie responded.

"And finally, Buttercup Utonium!"

"Here!" I hollered. She marked the final check on her clipboard and looked up.

"Okay, girls, line up on this line!" We all obeyed and stood on the horizontal, white line waiting for further instructions. Ms. Jackson began to walk slowly in front of us, back and forth. "First off, I would like to congratulate all of you for making it into the girls JV soccer team!" Ms. Jackson smiled widely. "That means that you guys are the most skilled out of all the girls who tried out for the soccer team. Well, now, you're here. On the _JV_ soccer team. This is a great feat, and we must show everyone that you deserve to be on this team by working hard! You guys got that?" Ms. Jackson stopped in front of the middle of the line, looking on expectantly.

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," we all responded.

"Aw, come on. You guys can be louder than that. Where's your school spirit? Show me that you're excited to be on this team! Let me ask again: you guys got that?" she asked again a bit louder than before.

"YES, MS. JACKSON," we all yelled.

"Good," she gave a bigger smile, "That's way better." She continued to walk again. "I love it when my team is excited. It shows me that they care, and that they're in it to win it. With that being said, give me 5 laps around the track!" she said as she pointed to the track area that encircled the soccer field. "Follow me, ladies." She started walking to the 1st lane on the track field. "I want you all to start here. It's okay if you slow down or start walking. I just want to see how much stamina and determination you have. I will time each of you. Okay?" she looked at all of us, and we nodded our heads. "Ready, set, go!" she pushed the start button on her stopwatch, and we all started running.

A good 4 minutes had passed, and I had just started on my 3rd lap. Not bad for me not using my superpowers. Plus, I was ahead of everyone which made me feel proud about myself. When I had finally finished my 5th lap, I had a total time of 6:04.

"Nice job, Buttercup!" Ms. Jackson beamed as she recorded my time down on her clipboard. "Keep this up, and you can probably become the team's captain! You can go ahead and change and get to class." This made me blush slightly but made me full of pride. I waved Ms. Jackson goodbye and went to the locker room.

When I had just pulled my head through the hole of my soccer shirt, the bell rang signaling that breakfast was over, and that everyone needs to go to his/her homeroom. 'Dang it,' I thought. I'm going to be late, and passing period is only 4 minutes long. I looked to the right and left of me. Nobody else was in the locker room. 'Just this once…' Using my superpowers, I quickly changed in 5 seconds. I zipped my duffle bag up and walked quickly to the 2nd floor where my homeroom and locker were.

I quickly went over to my locker and dropped my duffle bag to my side. I was tampering with my lock. 'Wait…WHERE'S MY BACKPACK' I was going to be in trouble for sure. I brought nothing for my classes which means that I'm going to get detention! Today's the first day of soccer practice, and I'm going to be late for it. I'm not going to be the captain at this rate.

"Here," Blossom smiled as handed me my backpack.

"Wha—how did you?" I was baffled.

"You left it at home, silly. Next time, try to remember." She poked my forehead. "Well, I have to hurry to class now. Bye!" She smiled and started walking off.

"Um, thanks, Blossom." She walked a bit more slowly and turned her head.

"No problem." She smiled again and turned forward once more heading to the 1st floor. I watched as she descended down the steps with her long orange-red hair and red bow bobbing up and down. 'Geez, she sure did save me there,' I thought. I quickly unlocked my locker and stuffed my duffle bag inside. I grabbed my notebooks, pens, pencil, eraser, and folder out of my backpack and placed my backpack in my locker afterwards. I locked my locker and quickly went to my homeroom. It was located near the staircase, about 3 classrooms away from my locker. 'Agh! I'm the only one in the hallway.' I began to run. Nobody's here, so I won't get in trouble, right? I stopped in front of the door with my sneakers screeching to a halt. Looking through the door window, I can see everybody starting to take their seats except for one boy who stood next to the teacher's desk. I turned the knob and quickly took my seat near the window in the last row.

As soon as the bell rang, Ms. Carson stood up from her desk with a wide smile. She was tall and skinny. She had thin-framed glasses that were purple. She had her hair in a bun today and had on a white floral skirt that reached her knees, a short sleeve, hot pink blouse that had ruffles on the front, and red flats. She was in a cheery mood as always.

"Good morning, everybody! Today, we have a new student joining us from now on!" She flashes her signature smile and turns to the boy. "Why don't you introduce yourself to everybody?"

"It would be my pleasure," the boy responds with a smile as he looks at Ms. Carson. He had a British accent which was not too thick. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a denim collar shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore maroon s8-hi's. His shirt was buttoned all the way, and he was wearing a dark red beanie. His hair was brown and was slightly wavy. It was swept to the right, and his sides had slight undercuts. His eyes were...a deep shade of green. I couldn't stop staring at him. I propped my arm on my desk and rested my chin on top of it. The boy reverted his eyes back to the class.

"My name is Tyler Sykes, and my family had moved here from Britain in search of new jobs." He was looking around at everyone when we suddenly locked eyes. Shoot. It caught me off guard. He smiled at me, making me blush a bit. "I do look forward to spending the rest of highschool with you all." After that statement, I looked down at my desk staring at nothing but the light tan wood.

"That was lovely, Tyler," Ms. Carson nodded, "You can go have a seat now. Everyone can go back to socializing."

'Man, that was awkward.' I turned my attention out the window as I watched 2 birds chase after each other.

"Pardon me?" I turned my head to the right. It was Tyler. "Is this seat taken?" He places his hand on the top of the seat of the desk next to mine.

"Um, no, it's not." My face started to warm up a bit as I looked at him. His eyes shone in the sunlight. They were pretty. It wasn't often that you see a brunette with green eyes. Well, a naturally born brunette, so I don't count, of course.

"Is it alright if I sit here?" He gave a small smile.

"Yeah, um, sure. I don't mind." I stuttered a bit.

"Haha, thanks." He showed his pearly white teeth and sat down. "So, what's your name, madame?"

"Oh, um, Buttercup Utonium."

"Why, that's a unique name. I'll remember that." He winked. I felt my face heat up even more. I looked back out the window with my face flushed.

"T-thanks." I rubbed my neck and placed my other arm on my stomach holding my waist. I heard him give a soft chuckle.

"Hey, Ms. Carson!" Butch yelled as he abruptly walked through the door.

"Goodness gracious, you're late again, Butch!" Ms. Carson said.

"Heehee, whoops." He rubbed his head and laughed.

"Just sit down. Please, be on time next time, okay?"

"Sure." He walked down the aisle between my desk and Tyler's. "Hey, Buttercuppy," he said with a grin as he stood next to his desk in front of Tyler. I jerked my head around and glared at him.

"Don't call me that," I threatened.

"Sure thing, princess," he said clearly unbothered with my warning of an upcoming pounding and waved me off. He sat down and turned around to Tyler. "So. You're the new kid?"

"Yes, I am. The name's Tyler, and I assume that you're Butch, correct?" Tyler cocked his head slightly to the right.

"Yup, that's me! The one and only Butch!" He gave a smug smirk. "The smartest and most athletic in the school!"

"In your dreams, airhead," I muttered.

"What was that? You looking for a fight, BC?" He glared at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Ahem," Tyler cleared his throat, "You guys seem like the lovely couple…" he said nervously. If I was drinking water at that moment, I would have spat back out. At Butch.

"Ha! As if I would ever go out with this smelly gorilla," I said.

"Oh, come on, BC. Admit it, you can't resist me," Butch cooed as he started flexing.

"If you don't shut—"

 _RIIIINNGG!_

Everybody stood up and headed to the door.

"Goodness, class went by pretty quickly," Tyler said as he looked at the clock on the wall in the back of the classroom.

"Well, yeah. This is only homeroom, so it's only 25 minutes long. Regular classes are about 75 minutes long unfortunately," I sighed.

"75 minutes?" I looked back and saw Tyler with a confused puppy look. It was adorable.

"Yeah but there are only 5 classes." I glanced at the clock. 3 minutes left for passing period. "Come on, let's hurry to class."

"O-oh. I apologize for stalling you." We exited out into the hallway.

"It's fine. I have Algebra 1 next, and the teacher's pretty cool. She won't mind me being a bit late. What do you have next?" Tyler pulled his schedule out of his folder and looked it over. He made eye contact with me and smiled.

"Algebra 1 with Ms. Power. This is just delightful. I look forward to learning with you, Buttercup."

"Uh, me too," I replied sheepishly and looked at the ground.

"Um, is it fine if I follow you? I don't know where all the classrooms are situated."

"Yeah, sure," I looked up and smiled. His eyes were pretty.

We began to walk to the right towards the stairs.

"Aw, man," I groaned, "There's so many people, and they're walking so slow."

"It's alright. With patience, we'll get through this," he gave a reassuring smile.

"Yeah…" I gave a small smile and quickly looked to the ground shortly after. 'Man, what is wrong with you, Buttercup,' I thought to myself, 'You're the strongest girl in probably the whole world, and you're acting all shy! What's up with that? And why are my ears warm?'

We walked onto the landing for the 3rd floor and walked straight. We were almost there. Room 301. But it felt like forever getting there. An awkward silence hung in the air. I glanced at Tyler. He constantly turned his head and set his eyes on everything. 'Hmph, I guess that nobody gave him a tour of the school yet.'

"Hey, Tyler?" I called. He snapped his focus back to me.

"Yes, Buttercup?" he replied.

"Can I see your schedule?"

"I don't know. Can you?" he laughed.

"You really wanna play that way?" I lifted an eyebrow. He only answered back with a smile and a quick shift with his eyebrows going up. "Okay, fine," I rolled my eyes with a small smile. " _May_ I see your schedule?"

"It would be my pleasure," he said as he handed me it.

"Hmmm," I hummed loudly as I scanned the paper.

"'Hmmm'? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that we share only 2 classes," I shifted my eyes to Tyler's face to find a small frown in place.

"That's unfortunate. I was hoping that we would see each other more often and bond more."

"O-Oh," I muttered, "We can message each other on Facebook. Do you have one?"

"I do. Just type my full name in the search bar, and it should be the one with a picture of me and 2 other people."

"Alright. I'll add you tonight."

"I'll be waiting," he smiled.

"I think we have 2 minutes left until passing period. I don't want you being late to your first class on your first day here."

"Yeah, we better hurry." We turned a corner on the right side by the water fountains and continued straight.

"Room 301 should be on the left side," I said.

"Right here?" We stopped in front of a tan colored door covered with different numbers, orders of operation, and equations.

"Yup, we're here," I sighed.

"What's wrong? You don't seem happy about this."

"I mean, I'm happy that we're here on time, but I'm failing this class right now."

"Oh, that's not good to hear…"

"Yeah," I sighed again. "But I'm trying to bring my grade back up." I turned the knob on the door to meet Ms. Power standing in front of the whiteboard writing the do now. She turned her head to her right at the sound of the door opening. She smiled at me.

"Good morning, Buttercup. Have a seat. Class is going to start soon." Her eyes shifted from my face to Tyler's. "I'm assuming that you're Tyler, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. She placed the dry erase maker onto the whiteboard's ledge and walked towards us.

"I'm Ms. Power," she stuck her hand out with a smile and Tyler firmly shook it in response. "Why don't you sit next to Buttercup since it seems that you two have met already?" She looked at me, and I nodded my head.

"Come on, Tyler," I said as I walked towards the 3rd column, 4th row. He followed my footsteps, and we sat down. Each row had 2 desks next to each other, and since the kid who used to sit next to me was moved to the front for falling asleep too much, Tyler was able to sit next to me on my left. Surprisingly, Butch was already in his seat. He sat in the 2nd column, 5th row. Basically, he sat diagonally from me.

"Who is this?" a snobby, shrill voice behind me asked, clearly talking about Tyler. I tensed at the sound of that piercing voice. It belonged to a figure with clothes way too expensive for school and two orange-red curly pigtails. Princess Morbuks. I turned around to face the spoiled beast.

"What do you want, Princess?" I said as I narrowed my eyes.

"I just wanted to know who this cutie is," she said as she twirled a curl from one of her basketball pigtails. I looked at Tyler who still didn't turn around yet. He looked at me from the corner of his eye, and it was obvious that he didn't want to talk to Princess. I mean, who would anyway? It was totally understandable.

"Well," she said for a couple seconds more than necessary. "I'm waiting. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" I rolled my eyes and faced back towards the front. "Buttercup, I'm talking to y-"

 _RIIIINNGG!_

"Alright, class!" Ms. Power stood in the middle in front of the room with a smile. "Please, quiet down and take out your graphing notebooks and a pen or pencil. There's a do now on the board that you guys will work on for 5 minutes.

"You're so rude, Buttercup," Princess whispered harshly. I quickly turned around and stuck my tongue out at her. I heard her growl as I looked back at my desk.

I opened my notebook and started working on the do now. It was a quadratic equation, and we had to find the solution. Great. One of the things I'm struggling with. I mindlessly copyied what was on the board to make it look like I was working. From the corner of my eye, I saw that Tyler was already finished with his work. I widened my eyes in amazement. Only 2 minutes had gone by, and he was already done! Man, he must be smart… Welp, I have 3 more minutes to kill. I started to doodle a small picture on the side of my notebook.

When 3 minutes had finally passed, Ms. Power spoke up, "Alright, class. Talk to your partners and compare your answers for this do now. We'll get back together in about 2 minutes."

I scooted my notebook to the line in the middle of the desks, and Tyler did the same.

"Hmm," Tyler thought out loud.

"What?" I questioned.

"It seems that you're not finished, but that is an adorable puppy," he points to my doodle.

"U-Um, thanks. I honestly don't know how to do this…" I looked down at my lap with slight embarrassment.

"That's alright. I'll teach you."

"You will? Thanks," I met his eyes and smiled.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure to help a friend out," he smiled.

"Alright!" Ms. Power yells, and everyone's attention snaps towards her. "That was about 2 minutes. I hope that you all have finished with your discussions."

"Not even," Tyler mutters. I gave a small chuckle.

"Okay, does anybody want to volunteer to come to the front to show everybody how to solve this problem?" No hands were raised. "Well, looks like I'll have to choose a victim." 'Please not me, please not me, please not me,' I kept repeating over and over again in my head. I was crossing my fingers and my legs for good luck, and I think Tyler saw because I heard a small chuckle. "Well, I guess that this would be a good time to introduce our new student. Tyler, why don't you come up and show us how you solved this problem?" Tyler's chair grated against the floor as he stood up.

"Sure, thing, Ms. Power." I sighed with relief. I'm pretty sure that Tyler would be able to explain the problem with ease. He walked to the front of the class with a look of confidence. He popped the dry erase marker's cap off and started solving the equation while explaining it. "First, I used the quadratic formula…foiled…" By the time he was done explaining, I finally understood how to solve quadratics. He explained it way better than Ms. Power did! He pushed the cap back onto the marker, but before he could start returning back to his seat, Ms. Power spoke up.

"Great job, Tyler! You explained it so well and got the right answers." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he glanced at me. I smiled back when suddenly, something small hit me in the back of the head. "Does anybody have any questions?" I immediately looked down and saw an eraser. I looked at Butch's direction. Of course, it was him. He had that dumb grin again. Suddenly, he raised his hand. "Yes, Butch?" Ms. Power asked.

"Can I get my eraser? I dropped it near Buttercup's desk."

"Next time, make it a question about this problem. Just hurry up and get it." That little goblin. I glared at him as he approached closer and closer to my desk. He bent down and grabbed his eraser. Before he turned back around to go back to his desk, he grabbed my pencil and quickly went away. I felt my face go hot as I tried my best to not yell at him. My eyes never left his dumb face. Before I knew it, Tyler was back at my side again. I shot a quick scowl at Butch before turning back towards the front.

"Is something wrong, Buttercup?" Tyler whispered.

"Not really," I responded quietly. "Butch just took my led pencil. That's all."

"Here, you can borrow mine." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a led pencil.

"Thanks," I took it from his hand as he offered it to me.

"No problem. I'm always happy to help a friend out."

"I'll remember to give it back to you after school."

"Alright, sounds good," his eyes gleamed.

After 60 more long, boring minutes had passed, class was finally about to end.

"Alright, class, tonight's homework is to just do problems 1-15 on this worksheet I'm about to pass out," Ms. Power shuffled through some files on her desk and pulled a white colored one out with the words "OPTIMISM" written out in bold orange letters with a couple of flowers here and there.

 _RIIIINNGG!_

"Oh, no. I'll place your homework on the table by the door, so don't forget to grab one before you leave." She walked briskly to the door and dropped the papers on the desk before returning to the whiteboard to erase the work Tyler had done earlier.

"So, I guess I'll see you later, Buttercup," Tyler said as he stood from his chair.

"Yeah, English class with Mr. Pietrus." I quickly grabbed all my stuff and walked out the door with Tyler. We parted our ways with Tyler giving me a smile showing his pearly white teeth.

* * *

Finally, I get to go to my favorite class: P.E.! Biology class had just ended, and now, I was on my way to the gym for 3rd period. I walked down the stairs to the 1st floor and turned a corner to my right. I started to give off a small smile. There was Tyler standing by the sophomores' lockers right by the lunchroom. I began to pick up the pace. He seemed to be talking to someone, but it also looked like he was uncomfortable. As I got closer, I saw that he was with...Princess and her equally annoying friend Miranda. Looks like I have to save the poor guy from that torture.

"Hey, Tyler!" I waved. He turned around and a look of relief swept across his face.

"Hey, Buttercup. Good to see you again." I stood in front of him which forced Princess and her minion to take a step back. I looked over my shoulder and was satisfied to see them glaring at me.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too. Aren't you gonna go to class?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Excuse me!" Princess interrupted as she grabbed Tyler's arm and held it to her chest. Her friend did the same with his other arm. "Tyler was just inviting me—I mean—us to get lunch after school." She grinned at me with an evil glint in her eyes. I knew that she was lying, so obviously, I wasn't moved at all. I looked at Tyler, and he looked at me with his eyes pleading for help. My eyes trailed back to Princess with her tongue sticking out. All of a sudden, Tyler slips his arms out of the pesky girls' chains and quickly stands next to me.

"Um, sorry, ladies," he announced. "Buttercup and I were going to study together after school, so I can't meet with your plans." With saying that, he promptly grabbed my arm firmly yet gently and rushed us to the next turn of the hall. I chuckled to myself as I heard Princess yell with frustration.

"Well, that was some escape," I remarked.

"Yeah, I'll make sure that I bring a jetpack and smoke bombs next time," he chuckled. "But, thank you for helping me back there."

"Well, it was no problem. I'm always happy to help a friend out," I smiled. He smiled back and ruffled my hair. "Hey! I'm not a dog that you can pet." I halted to a stop, and he did the same.

"Sorry," he laughed.

"Also, can you let go of my arm?" I looked at his hand placed on my bicep, feeling a little heat coming on.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry," he flustered and immediately placed his arms back around his sides. "I-I didn't mean to." He placed his gaze towards the ground.

"Haha, it's fine. It's not like you were hurting me or anything."

"Oh, good. I'm glad to hear that," he sighed. We started to walk again.

"So, Tyler...how's your first meeting with Princess?" My eye twitched, and I felt myself puke on the inside as that disgusting name escaped my lips.

"Eh, she's...demanding, and I'm guessing by her clothes that she's wealthy, so I believe I have the right to assume that she's spoiled."

"Yup, that sounds pretty accurate, but that's a pretty good excuse you gave her and her friend, you know, about the one with the study session thing."

"Well, actually," he smiled, "I really was planning to ask you if we could study together when school ends, and maybe, you can show me around the town."

"Oh, um, I'm pretty sure that I won't be busy."

"So, is that a yes?" he slightly raised an eyebrow but still smiled.

"Yeah." A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I saw that his smile only got even bigger. "Ah, I have to go to P.E. right now." I looked at the door to the gym right in front of us, and Tyler understood the signal that it was time to part ways again.

"Oh, right. I should get going to my next class too." Tyler began to walk to the staircase at our right but stopped at the foot of the stairs. He looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. "I'm looking forward to our date," he winked and ran up to the 2nd floor. My eyes widened at his words, but I didn't say anything. I quickly entered the gym and went to my usual spot: the bench on the other side of the room. I promptly sat down and covered my cheeks with my palms. They were warm again. 'He's such a joker! We're just going to study and nothing else! Then, why am I blushing?' I looked around the room. Everybody was with their group of friends, and I was alone as usual. 'Man, I've never been on a date…' I shook my head. 'No, we're just gonna study.' My thoughts were interrupted as I noticed someone standing in front of me. I looked up to see that it was Butch.

"What do you want?" I asked, exasperated with his presence.

"Just wanted to chit-chat," he answered and sat next to me. I stared at him, confused. He wanted to have a conversation? You gotta be kidding me. I opened my mouth to retaliate, but he beat me to it. "So," he locked eyes with me. He looked serious. "What's up with you and that Tommy kid?"

"Huh?" I was baffled. My mind suddenly went empty. "Tommy? Who's that?" He continued to look at me, showing no sign of replying. "Oh, do you mean Tyler?" I could've sworn that I saw him narrow his eyes. For a split second, I could've sworn that I saw it, but it was gone. "Um, we're just friends." Finally, Butch broke out of his stone cold trance and sighed. One of his signature goofy grins was tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Good," he breathed quietly.

"Huh?"

"It's nothing, Butterbean." His goofy grin broke out in full exposure as his hand reached out on top of my head and ruffled my hair.

"Hey!" I pushed his hand back down to his side. "Cut it out."

"What? You don't like it?"

"Well, no duh. That's why I pushed your hand away." I crossed my arms.

He let out a laugh.

"You sure are sassy. You're like spice."

"Gee, I wonder why." I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon, Butterbean. Don't be so mean. I just wanna be friends." He nudged my side with his elbow.

"Well, why don't you be a good friend, and give me back my led pencil?"

"Nah."

"What. What do you mean 'nah'?"

"I don't feel like giving it back yet. Why don't _you_ be a good friend, and let me have it?"

"You are so irritating." He continued to smile at me. "You know what? Just keep it. It's always good to donate to the needy anyways."

"Aww, Butterbean, you can tell when I need help! You do care!" He dramatically leaned against me while clasping his hands together with an exaggerated look of heartfeltness.

"Wow, you should join the drama club or something." I quickly scooted towards the end of the bench which made Butch lose balance and almost fall cheek-first.

"Gee, you think so?" He quickly planted his hand on top of the bench to make it look like the accident earlier did not happen at all.

"Yeah so you can give the people there an inspiration to make a play based on your sad chances of getting a girlfriend."

"At least, I'll be famous." He grinned again. I rolled my eyes.

* * *

Finally, school is over! I walked out through the double-doors and met the chilly January air stinging my face.

"Hey, Buttercup!" I turned around at the sound of the voice.

"Hey, Blossom." I smiled.

"Have you seen Bubbles?"

"Not yet."

"Oh, I was thinking that we can go eat somewhere together."

"That's not a bad idea actually."

"Hey, I think I see her!" Blossom remarked. I squinted my eyes.

"Yup, that's her. Can't mistaken those blond pigtails for anybody else." Bubbles stopped at the entrance for a couple of seconds before planting her eyes on us. She smiled and skipped towards us.

"Hey, guys!" Bubbles gleamed.

"Hey, Bubbles, do you think that it's a good idea if we 3 went out to eat together? You know, kind of like a sister bonding time thing?" Blossom asked. Bubbles's eyes widened at the question.

"Yes, of course! That sounds like it's going to be so much fun!" She jumped with joy like a bunny.

"Yeah, plus, it's going to be a great relief from all this stress from school," I added.

"Then, let's go, girls!" Blossom exclaimed. Before we could take a step, someone called out to me.

"Buttercup!"

"Oh, hey, Tyler." I smiled. Blossom and Bubbles looked at Tyler with curiosity as he walked towards me. He stood next to me and looked at me then Blossom and Bubbles.

"Oh, yeah, Tyler, these are my sisters."

"My name is Blossom. Nice to meet you!"

"And, I'm Bubbles! I hope that you like it here!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Tyler smiled. "Ah, Buttercup," he turned towards me again, "I'm so sorry that it took me awhile. Princess was holding me up again. It was dreadful."

"Pfft," Blossom and Bubbles tried to hold back a laugh.

"I think that we're all going to get along just fine," Blossom giggled.

"Agreed," I smirked.

"Anyways, are you ready to go?" Tyler asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I'm sorry!"

"Huh? Go where?" Bubbles asked.

"Sorry, guys...I've already made plans with Tyler. We're gonna have this little study session, and since he's new to Townsville, I'm going to show him around."

"Oh," Bubbles looked at her feet with disappointment.

"Don't worry, guys! I'll make it up to you!" I quickly added.

"Promise?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah, yeah, promise. You guys can join us if you want."

"Yeah, I do need help with my project for Biology," Bubbles chimed in. "Ooo! Can we get ice-cream later?"

"Only if you actually make progress with your project," Blossom chuckled. "We'll join you guys at the library later. I'll help Bubbles buy supplies for her project." With a wave, Blossom and Bubbles walked in the direction towards the downtown area.

"I guess that we should get going," I said.

"Sure," Tyler smiled. As soon as Blossom and Bubbles's figures disappeared into the horizon, I turned around and walked towards the library with Tyler by my side.


	3. Strange Coincidence

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry, guys! I haven't posted in such a long time because I simply lost motivation for this fanfic. I'll try to post a bit more since I'll definitely have more free time. I am considering changing the point of view from 1st to 3rd, so don't be surprised! Enjoy!

* * *

"So, there's the mayor's office," I casually pointed at the building, "He used to call me and my sisters a lot when he needed help, but he doesn't do that a lot anymore."

After a couple more minutes of pointing and explaining, we finally arrived at the library. I looked around before entering but didn't see Blossom or Bubbles anywhere. A quiet sigh escaped my lips. ' _Well, this might be a bit awkward.'_

We sat down at a table near the back of the library where all the computers were. The awkward silence was too uncomfortable. Well, at least, for me. Tyler just looked around his surroundings from the painting on the ceiling to the columns with golden borders.

I took out my math materials and looked around out of habit from fighting criminals. I was about to speak up when I saw dark green and ebony flash before my eyes.

' _Are you kidding me right now?'_

Of course, it was that sack of snails Butch. He was sitting at one of the computers near the far end, but his expression was unusually serious. I stretched my neck a bit to have a closer look at what he was doing. Surprisingly, he was actually researching something about World War 1.

"Buttercup?"

"Huh?" I looked back at Tyler.

"Do you want to get started?"

"Oh, sure."

30 minutes had barely gone by, but I learning 3 months' worth of learning in that time frame.

"So, you carry this over," Tyler traced his pencil from the number to the next, "And subtract."

"What? That's it?" My eyes were wide with surprise. "You're a better teacher than Ms. Power!"

"Haha, it's no biggie." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

Feeling as if someone was watching me, I turned around in my seat but saw nothing out of the ordinary besides Butch pushing in his chair with a 2-page essay in his hand. ' _Did he actually finish that early?'_ My thoughts broke as someone slightly shook the table. It was Blossom and Bubbles.

"Hey, guys," I smiled.

"Hi," they both replied with smiles.

"Did you make any progress with studying?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah, we just finished a couple minutes ago. I actually think that I might pass the next test!" I grinned from ear-to-ear.

"That's good!" Blossom returned the smile.

Bubbles placed her supplies onto the table along with a biology textbook. She noticed my staring and frowned.

"Buttercup, didn't you say that you had soccer practice before _and_ after school?"

I forgot. I can't believe that I forgot! My eyes widened with fear.

"I completely forgot! I wasn't thinking straight enough, and-and it somehow slipped my mind!" I jumped out of my chair, ready to dash straight back to the school.

"Wait, Buttercup." I turned towards Blossom. "Just email your coach that you forgot."

"I don't know," I looked down at my feet and back at her eyes. "Today's the first day of practice, and I completely forgot! What if I lose my chance of becoming team captain! People are gonna laugh at me for looking like a novice! What if-what if," my eyes widened. "What if I get kicked off the team!"

"Buttercup." My eyes refocused on Blossom. "Calm down. Just email her and tell her that you had to study for a big test. She would probably understand. Besides, they won't let you participate in sports activities if you're failing in your academics."

I slowly nodded, regaining my composure.

"You're right." Positioning myself back in my seat, I began to draft a message to Ms. Jackson.

* * *

"Looks like the library is closing soon," Blossom takes a glance at her watch. "I'll have to head home first. I promised the professor that I'll help cook dinner tonight." Her chair grates along the floor as she stands and grabs her backpack in one fluid movement.

"Wait," Bubbles follows suit. "I'll go home too. I still need to finish this project."

"Alright, I'll see you guys later. Make sure you don't burn the food, Blossom!" I sneered.

"Yeah, yeah. I won't."

With a few giggles, they left, leaving me and Tyler alone.

"Well, missy, do you still need help with anything else?"

"I think that I'm fine for now. Thanks again for helping."

"It's no problem, really. If you need any help in the future, feel free to contact me." He hands me a small piece of paper.

"Is this…?"

"Yup, it's my number." He smiles as I accidentally locked eyes with him for a quick second. Those dark green eyes looked too familiar. Like from my dream…

Not wanting to make things any awkward, I playfully punch his shoulder.

"Ha, thanks."

* * *

The night had once again fallen over the city. I gazed at its freckled stars from my window as I layed in bed with Tyler's number still in my hand.

I couldn't stop thinking about his eyes.

They looked way too similar to the ones from my dream last night. Was it fate? Or just some huge coincidence?

I didn't know.

Why should I care so much about that dream anyway?

Dreams are just scenarios created by our subconsciousness...right?

Sighing, I tucked the number underneath my mattress and nestled my blanket around me.

My heavy eyelids finally closed as I was sent into a deep sleep.


	4. Strange Red

"Buttercup!" the dark-haired teen turned her head to look at the source of the above-average happy voice.

"Oh, hey, Bubbles. What's up?" She asks as she continues to rummage through her locker.

"Heehee, I just wanted to see what you're doing!" her cheeriness was evident as she gave a little bounce after the end of her sentence.

"Just getting my soccer gear." Buttercup proceeds to close her locker with duffel bag in hand and starts to walk.

"Hey, wait!" Bubbles quickly returned to her side. "I forgot that your first soccer game is today! Expect me to be there!"

A smirk escaped Buttercup's lips. "Thanks, sis. I can always count on you." she playfully ruffled Bubbles's hair enough to make strands escape her pigtails.

"Hey, Buttercup, don't-!" she immediately stopped in her tracks, making the high-alert Buttercup do the same.

"Bubbles, what are you-"

"Hi, Tyler!" Bubbles exclaimed as she craned her neck over Buttercup to catch a better view.

Immediately, Buttercup spun around, and sure enough, there he was. Tyler.

"Good afternoon." he politely greeted. "Hello, Buttercup."

"Oh, uh, hey." her cheeks began to grow a bit warm. _What? Why am I blushing now?_

"Where are you ladies headed off to?"

"Oh! Buttercup actually has her first soccer game today! And guess what? She's the team captain!" Bubbles excitedly let her words flow out of her mouth before even giving Buttercup a chance to speak.

"Wow, I didn't know that you even played a sport, and captain too, huh? You must be good."

Immediately, Buttercup straightened her back. " _Good_? I am more than _good_. I am the best soccer player in the whole world! Even though I missed practice yesterday, Coach Jackson still let me be on the team!"

Tyler chuckled at her show of pride. "Well, shouldn't we be heading off soon?"

"Yeah, let's go before the captain is late to her own first game."

"Or," Bubbles gleefully hummed, "We can come fashionably late." With her perfectly fitted bubbly personality, she proceeded to twirl and strike into a pose.

Buttercup playfully shoved her sister with a chuckle. "Yuck, no thanks."

* * *

"A nice job well done out there, Buttercup! But of course, I had no doubt that you would lose or of any idea of the sort." Professor Utonium glanced at his daughter.

"Thanks, Professor, but you know, you didn't have to skip work just to come to some high school's soccer game."

"Of course, I would come. Spending time with my little girl is way more important than science work."

"Yeah, you were great out there," Blossom added.

"Thanks, guys." Buttercup grinned proudly from ear to ear.

* * *

As the family arrived home, Buttercup was not given a chance to rest before Blossom needed her attention.

"Hey, Buttercup?" Blossom gave a light knock on the bedroom door before entering anyway.

"What?" an exaggerated sigh came out of Buttercup, quickly followed by a twitching brow. "Next time, can you wait until I _actually_ invite you in?"

"Sorry," Blossom mindlessly replied as Buttercup rolled her eyes, knowing that she would do the same thing next time. "It's just about that play I asked you to do a couple of days ago."

Immediately, Buttercup stopped reaching for her game controller, realizing the hole she had dug herself in. "Uhh, yes?' she regretfully turned towards her sister.

"Practice will be every Tuesday and Friday after school."

"Woah, hold up," Buttercup got up from her bed and walked closer to her. "You're telling me that there's already a fixed schedule which means that you already _found_ people to fill in all the roles?"

Blossom smugly leaned against the door frame. "In fact, we did. Efficiency is key to success, you know. But most of the roles were filled by my own peers in drama class, but luckily, there were other students eager enough to take the rest of the roles."

Buttercup spun around and placed her forearms over her eyes. She groaned, "Fine. Whatever, seems fine by me." She plopped on her mattress. "Is there anything else I should know about?" She muffled into her pillow.

"Mmm," Blossom thought for a minute, and as a result out of habit, she began to pace around. "Oh!" Suddenly, her footsteps stopped as she looked at the drawer.

"What is it?" Buttercup lazily peered over.

"Whose phone number is this, little missy?" In Blossom's hand was the sheet of paper that Buttercup had been denying for days, being waved around in her face attached to the arm of the orange-headed girl giving a snarky smile. The one that had Tyler's phone number on it. Immediately, Buttercup shot up and snatched it out of her sister's hand, leaving her a bit shocked.

"Geez, calm down," Blossom giggled. "This guy sure must be special then if you're acting that rashly enough to take it back." Before she left out of the bedroom, she turned with a smirk, "No wonder they say that you're made of spice."

Finally alone in her room, Buttercup was left red on her bed, unable to muster a word as she continued to clutch the paper in her fist.


	5. Strange Follower

**A/N:** Yoooo, I'm back! I'm going to try to publish more often, so the chapters may get shorter and shorter. It's just that, you know, busy with life, and I may not have motivation at times. I recently finished reading the amazing sbj's More than Human fanfic (I already read 2 other PPG fanfics of hers way before and are the reasons why I decided to write this fanfic in the first place!), and of course, it's a flipping masterpiece! She just captures every character's personality so perfectly, and it makes me frustrated that my Buttercup and Butch won't compare! So, I'm trying to get more comfortable with my writing and such, so there's cursing in this chapter! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Another groan echoed through the auditorium, but it was quickly overpowered by the busy chattering of students and scurrying of feet. Many were flipping through pages as their eyes repeated ran back and forth through the same lines while others had their clothes fitted.

"Why am I here again?" Buttercup grumbled for what seemed the 600th time. Although Buttercup felt miserable to be there, it did not match the level of irritation in her sister.

"Look!" Blossom suddenly exclaimed, accidentally letting her frustration escape. She quickly coughed and regained her composure. "Buttercup," she calmly started once over. "You agreed to be in this play, remember? Remember? To prove that you're more than just muscle? Plus, it'll wow the audience."

"But-" Buttercup began to protest.

"No!" Blossom held her hand up to halt any disagreement from her sister. "No 'buts'. You can't back out now. You're playing the starring role! And please, please, _please_!" She grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her a bit for emphasis. "Let me work in peace! It's not easy having to direct this whole play."

Being the daredevil she was, Buttercup, just for a second, considered bugging her again. But hearing that she was near to begging, she decided to cut her sister some slack.

"Alright, alright. My bad." Buttercup patted her shoulder. "I'll get to memorizing my lines or whatever actors and actresses do."

"Thank you," Blossom smiled before turning to check on the others.

She watched as the orange-headed leader walked towards the stage crew. As her back got smaller and smaller, Buttercup's frown began to become more and more evident.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She sighed as she ran her fingers through her bangs.

* * *

The school was unusually quiet. Buttercup had volunteered to put all the equipment away after practice was over. By the time she went to her locker, the hallways were silent, but this didn't bother her. This usually happened after soccer practice anyway.

Humming, Buttercup quickly gathered her things into her bookbag but rather too quickly that she dropped her calculator. She bent down to pick it up, but while trying to stand straight again, she hit her head against the bottom of her locker door.

"Shit." She cursed quietly to herself before slamming her door shut in an attempt to somehow hit her locker back.

"I would watch that tongue if I were you, princess."

Buttercup's alone time was interrupted as she spun around to the sudden voice.

"Ugh," She groaned out loud. "What do you want, Butch?" Of course. Out of anybody in the whole world, it just had to be this annoying bastard who had to be practically the other living soul in the building.

He grinned as he pushed himself off the lockers he was just leaning on, satisfied that he was already beginning to tick the dark-haired teen off.

"Nothing much. Just wanted to see how the to-be Juliet is doing." And to exaggerate his point, he placed his arm across his stomach and bowed.

"Haha, very funny." She responded dryly as she walked away towards the exit, not wanting to be around the nuisance any longer. However, to her dismay, he began to follow, not taking the hint that she didn't want to be within a fifty-foot radius from him.

"Sooo," He drawled out, striking up a conversation as soon as they left the building and started floating. "I never thought that you'd be so thirsty to pick a role of being a damsel in distress before the damn tryouts were even announced."

"Shut up!" She punched his arm. "It wasn't really like I had much of a _choice_." She made sure that she spat out her last word with enough bitterness to get through his thick skull.

"Yeah, right." He rolled his eyes, obviously not convinced. "But maybe it'll be cute to see you in a dress moaning for her Rome-!"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Buttercup yanked him hard, making his face make contact with the ground.

"You better watch it," She growled. "It's _not_ fucking sexual, and can't you fucking read? The flyers clearly said that the play would be modernized."

In no time, Butch was already back on his feet, spitting out specks of concrete.

"Guess I didn't catch that. Probably because I don't give enough of a shit." He shrugged.

"Wow, nice to know." Buttercup responded unamused. She cocked her head a bit, glaring at the slimeball who was still walking by her side. "Why are you still following me?"

"Bored. I don't got anything else to do."

"Go bug your brothers or something like regular siblings."

"Can't." At that, Buttercup raised a brow. She was expecting an answer like 'don't wanna', like he had a choice, but instead, he said 'can't'.

"Why not?" Her head was turned even more towards him.

"They're out on missions." He seemed to force his gaze somewhere else. Although he didn't show it, she could tell that he was a bit disappointed.

She and the whole city already knew that once the Rowdyruff Boys got older, they had to somehow be kept in check and prevented from causing destruction. The Boys had already left Mojo Jojo and Him and were practically homeless ruffians. As a result, the city agreed to provide them with a place to live and a monthly of a hefty amount of money, but in return, they would have to work for a national organization in various missions and to somehow live a "normal" life when not working.

"How come you're not with them?" Although Buttercup was already getting pissed off with him following her, she couldn't help but be curious about the secrecy of this organization that even the Powerpuff Girls were kept from.

"Because," He sighed. "It's an infiltrate and extract kind of mission or some shit. And of course, they're gonna want the orange-headed prodigy who can master plan just about anything. But what the hell!" He kicked a tiny pebble, sending it flying into a car and popping its tire. "Whoops…" He turned to see Buttercup glaring at him.

"Butch," She began, her eyes quickly glowing green.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" He waved his arms defensively. "That was an accident! My bad! Besides tires can be replaced more easily than a car door." To his relief, Buttercup's eyes returned to normal, but her scowl remained. "Anyway, I'm still hella pissed that they chose Boomer over me. The fucking idiot of the group! But they said something about him being more sneaky and charismatic than me or some shit."

"I mean, it's pretty self-explanatory," She waved her arm at the tire that was popped merely a minute ago. "You did just destroy something, on _accident_."

"Erm," Butch scratched the back of his neck. "I guess...they do got a point." He mumbled. "But hey," He placed his hands on Buttercup's shoulders and leaned into her ear. "I get to spend more time with a horny Juliet over here."

Immediately, Buttercup spun around and connected her first to Butch's jaw, sending him flying a couple streets down.

"And stay away, you jackass!" Her fist began to spark with green electricity, and she even considered going after him to knock some more sense into him. She quickly disregarded the idea, seeing that the sun was already beginning to creep below the horizon and flew the rest of the way home.


End file.
